How Being Burnt Out Can Ignite A Rebirth

A Guest Post By Jim Hoffman

“The EMS Professional,” “The Paramedic Mentor,” Today’s guest author, Jim Hoffman has more nicknames than a retiring prizefighter and he’s earned every one of them. From the streets of The Big Apple to New Jersey and now the secluded mountains of upstate New York, Jim has been a paramedic for the better part of two decades.

In his down time, Jim runs EMS-Safety.com, a one stop shop for low cost EMS training resources. He’s also part of the team behind The EMS Boot Camp series. After a little cajoling I talked Jim into letting me post his Handover contribution as a guest post. So this is me, stealing all of Jim’s literary  goodness for you. (Thank me later.)

And now Jim:

As an EMT in a large EMS system I found myself becoming burnt and indifferent to the patients I was responding to and treating; all too often being annoyed at the calls that obviously just didn’t require an ambulance and more often didn’t even require a doctor.

Continue Reading…

6 Reasons Why You Should Be a Better EMT

Sure, this site isall about being a better EMT, but perhaps you’ve asked yourself, “Why?” OK, granted, it was probably one of your more cynical moments. Perhaps you had a bad day, a couple of frustrating calls or a less than optimal interaction with a patient, your partner, another agency, your boss … or perhaps all of the above.

Then you went out and threw down your stethoscope. Or maybe you didn’t throw it down because you remembered it was a Littmann and a gift from your aunt, but you raised it over your head and thought about it. And while that stethoscope dangled over your head in your clenched fist you thought, “Why? Why do I work so hard to try to be better at a job that pays so little and offers so little in return?”

“Why?”

We’ve all had these moments. Moments when we contemplated, “Why don’t I just phone it in? The bad EMT’s make the same amount of money as the good ones. I clearly already meet the minimum standard. Nobody’s really pushing me to be any better. Nobody seems to recognize my growth or effort. So why do it?”

Continue Reading…

Don’t Forget To Ask The Patient

Let the young know they will never find a more interesting, more instructive book than the patient himself. ~Giorgio Baglivi

It was nearly two decades ago that I knelt on the floor before Sammy in the Santa Clara County Sheriffs booking facility. I remember him so vividly that it’s hard to believe so much time has passed. There was nothing exceptional about him. Handcuffed to the waiting area bench, he looked very much like you might expect a man high on drugs, being booked for petty larceny, might look.

Sammy felt like his heart was racing and, given his drug history, the officer thought that he needed a once-over before heading off to the county lock-up. I, the young, scared, mostly clueless paramedic intern was doing my best to evaluate him. Growing up in a quaint California suburb I hadn’t crossed paths with to many folks like Sammy. He, quite frankly, terrified me. My preceptors stood back and observed.

“Sammy did you do any drugs tonight?” I asked.

“Yeah, I did a speedball about an hour ago.” He casually offered.

I looked over at my preceptor Mark hoping for clarification. I got nothing. I looked back at Sammy and then again at Mark who smiled demurely. “What’s a speedball I asked?” Mark knew the answer but he had other ideas. He gestured toward Sammy. “Ask him. He’s the one who took it.”

Continue Reading…

Ten Things You Can’t Learn About EMS

                                        From Your Computer

As you might imagine, I’m a big fan of E-learning. I also have a soft spot for the social media craze. But there are still a few things that you just can’t learn staring at a computer screen. OK, there are a LOT of things you can’t learn staring at a computer screen. Here are ten:

1.) You can’t learn pattern recognition.

If you’ve ever wondered about how experienced EMTs and medics can figure out exactly what’s wrong with the patient two steps inside the front door, it’s not magic. It’s pattern recognition. When you’ve seen what CHF looks like a hundred times, you can pick out the pattern almost instantaneously. Watch a hundred people have cardiac chest pain and you’ll be able to see it from across the room. But it doesn’t matter how many times you read those chapters in your books. You need to see it.

Continue Reading…

Lessons I Learned From My First Cardiac Arrest

It strange to think that it’s been almost 20 years since the first time I did CPR. I still remember it so vividly. How the time flies.

I was fortunate to have good mentors and teachers in my early days in EMS. One of them was Phil Rigardo. As an EMT student, Phil had invited me to come do a few ride-along’s with him. I owe a lot to Phil. He was one of the first major influences I had in EMS and he framed the job in a fun and exciting way. I’ve managed to carry that initial frame (EMS is fun) for most of my career.

I had been riding with Phil for a few shifts when we got dispatched to a cardiac arrest. This was the first really sick person I had ever seen Phil treat. My first chance to see him in action. That was a big deal to me.

The engine crew arrived before us and the three man crew had been working for a few minutes prior to our arrival. I remember the narrow staircase that lead up to the crowded upstairs apartment. Clothes and furniture and bags and the stuff of crowded people living crowded lives filled the place. Three firefighters were crammed in to a bedroom made for one doing CPR on the bed. The Captain was speaking in a raised voice and stress was evident across his forehead. Our patient filled the bed and bounced with each compression.

Phil walked in and did something I never expected.

Continue Reading…

Five Things Sports Can Teach You About Being A Good EMT

Some of my favorite movies are sports movies. Movies like Bull Durham, The Natural, Hoosiers and Miracle. I love them. There is something about sports that encapsulates our human struggles like few other things do.

Sports can teach us a few lessons about being a good EMT as well. There are good ideas to be gleaned from successful athletes about running a scene and coordinating emergency care well. Here are my top five.

Have A Good Coach

Everyone needs a mentor. At least everyone who wants to be better at what they do needs one. Look around you for the EMT’s, paramedics, nurses and doctors who you respect. People who may have more experience and training in the field (but not necessarily). Find those people who you would like to be more like and talk with them. You’ll be surprised at how willing people are to offer advice and give input on subjects that can help you become a better clinician.

There is an old Buddhist proverb that says, “When the student is ready, the master appears.” There are people all around you that could be mentors and coaches. You’ll find them when you open yourself to the idea of using others to grow and improve yourself. And if you still feel starved for coaching you can always come here.  

Continue Reading…